Breakdown
Car breakdown prices: what sets the cost and how to keep it down
Car breakdown prices depend on cover level, home start, personal or vehicle cover, extras and how you pay. See each factor and what cutting it costs you.
Car breakdown prices depend largely on what you ask the policy to do: the level of cover, whether it includes help at your home, whether it covers you or one named car, which extras you add and how you pay. A basic roadside policy for one car, paid yearly and bought well before you need it, sits at the lower end, while personal cover with home start, national recovery and Europe, paid monthly or bought on the day, sits at the top.
Price tables go out of date quickly and depend heavily on the provider, so this guide does not quote them. Instead it sets out each thing that moves the price and the trade-off you accept if you cut it, so you can judge what you actually need.
What are the levels of breakdown cover?
Which? groups breakdown cover into four main levels: roadside assistance, home assist, national recovery and European cover. Each step up generally costs more because the provider is promising more.
- Roadside assistance: a mechanic comes out and tries to fix the car where it stopped. If they cannot, it is towed a limited distance. Which? says most policies have a recovery limit of 10 to 20 miles from the breakdown scene.
- Home assist (home start): adds help when the car will not start at, or close to, your home. Basic roadside cover often excludes breakdowns within a quarter of a mile of your home.
- National recovery: covers breakdowns wherever you are in the UK and adds longer-distance recovery if the car cannot be fixed at the roadside.
- European cover: help while driving abroad. Which? notes most annual policies with this level include about 90 days of travel in Europe.
We go through each level in more depth in breakdown cover levels: roadside, recovery, home start, onward travel.
What changes car breakdown prices?
Each factor below pushes the price up or down. The right-hand column is the part people tend to skip: what you lose if you cut it.
| Factor | Usually costs less | Usually costs more | The trade-off if you cut it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover level | Roadside only | Roadside, home, national recovery and Europe | A short tow (often 10 to 20 miles) to the nearest garage, not home or onward |
| Home start | Not included | Included | No help if the car will not start on your drive or within about a quarter of a mile of home |
| Who is covered | Vehicle cover (one car) | Personal cover (you, in any car) | Help only for the named car, not a partner's car or a hire car |
| Call-out limit | Capped (some basic policies allow two or three a year) | Unlimited | Once you hit the cap, the next call-out is not covered |
| Extras | None | Misfuelling, onward travel, accommodation, parts cover | You pay those costs yourself if they come up |
| How you pay | Once a year | Monthly | No extra cost to spread payments, but a bigger single payment |
| When you buy | Well in advance | On the day, or after you break down | Buying at the roadside usually costs more for the same help |
Home start
Breakdowns at home are common. A Which? survey found a flat or faulty battery and a puncture were the two most common causes of breakdowns. Dropping home start lowers the price, but it is the cover that deals with that situation.
Personal or vehicle cover
Vehicle cover is tied to one car and usually lets you add between two and five drivers. Personal cover follows you into any car you are driving or travelling in, and tends to cost more. If you only ever drive one car, personal cover may be paying for help you will not use. If you regularly drive other people's cars, vehicle cover will not help you in them.
Vehicle age and how much you drive
You may be asked about the car itself and how it is used. Which? suggests checking how reliable your model is when deciding what cover you need, since a fault-prone car is more likely to need help. If your car is older, check the policy wording for any age or mileage limit before you buy, so you know the car is actually covered.
Extras and their limits
Extras add to the price, and they also come with their own caps. Which? found that a misfuelling flush can cost £150 to £300, that under a quarter of policies cover it, and that some cap payouts at £225. If you add an extra, check the limit as well as the price.
Is breakdown cover monthly vs annual cheaper?
Which? says paying annually rather than monthly can reduce costs, and that some sites default to the monthly option, so it is worth checking whether a yearly price is available.
Paying monthly for insurance is often a form of credit, known as premium finance. The FCA has looked closely at what firms charge for it on motor and home insurance, and has confirmed it will not cap the price or require it to be interest-free, because some people can only afford to pay monthly. If you pay monthly, compare the total you pay over the year with the single annual figure, and look at whether an interest rate (APR) is shown.
There is one more timing cost. Cover bought in advance is usually cheaper than cover bought when you need it. The Financial Ombudsman Service lists being charged more at the roadside than if cover had been bought before the trip among the complaints it sees, and Which? says home assistance usually takes 24 hours to take effect with most providers. Buying the night before a long drive may not give you home start the next morning.
How do people find cheap car breakdown cover without losing the help they need?
There is no single cheap option that suits everyone, and cheap breakdown recovery that leaves out the help you need is poor value, but these steps help you pay for the cover you will use and not for the rest.
- Check what you already have. New cars often come with manufacturer breakdown cover, which Which? says typically lasts one to three years. Some car insurance policies and packaged bank accounts include it too.
- Read the level, not the label. Breakdown add-ons with car insurance can be more basic than standalone cover, and some insurer add-ons allow only one call-out a year.
- Match vehicle or personal cover to how you drive. One car shared by a household points one way; one driver using several cars points the other.
- Decide on home start honestly. If your car sleeps on the street or drive and a flat battery would leave you stuck, roadside-only cover will not help there.
- Check the recovery distance. A 10 to 20 mile tow to a local garage is fine for town driving but less so on a long motorway trip.
- Look at the call-out limit. A low cap keeps the price down but can leave an older car short in a bad year.
- Compare the yearly total. Set the monthly cost against the annual price, and do the same at renewal rather than letting it roll over unchecked.
If you would rather talk it through, you can get breakdown cover quotes: you fill in a short form and a specialist broker contacts you with quotes for the level of cover you choose. For ways to keep the main car policy down too, see how to reduce car insurance without invalidating your policy.
Car breakdown quotes: what to check in the wording
When you compare car breakdown quotes, the price only tells part of the story. Check:
- the recovery distance and whether passengers are taken too
- how far from home the home start cover applies, and when it starts
- the number of call-outs a year
- who is covered (named car, named drivers, or you personally)
- what counts as a breakdown, and what is excluded. The Ombudsman notes that collecting a car after a road accident is a matter for your motor insurer or repairer, not breakdown cover
- the cancellation and refund terms. Which? says new policies have a 14-day cooling-off period with a full refund, but later refunds may carry an admin charge
It also helps to know who regulates what. Under article 12 of the Regulated Activities Order, breakdown cover that mainly provides help in kind (roadside repairs and towing, delivered by the provider's own staff in the UK and Ireland) can fall outside FCA regulation. The Financial Ombudsman says this mainly affects complaints about pricing, call-outs, roadside repairs and vehicle recovery, and that it can still look at things like onward travel, garage repairs, overnight accommodation and incidents in Europe. You can search a provider on the FCA register to see which of its services are regulated.
Is breakdown cover worth it?
That depends on your car, how you use it and what a breakdown would cost you without it. Breakdown cover pays for help to get the car moving or moved. Standard car insurance does not usually cover wear-and-tear failures, which is the gap breakdown cover fills.
Things that make it more useful:
- you drive long distances, at night or on motorways
- the car is older or has a history of faults
- you rely on the car for work or school runs
- you would struggle to arrange and pay for a tow at short notice
Whatever you decide, the Highway Code's breakdown rules apply. On a motorway, try to leave at the next exit or reach a service area; if you cannot, stop as far left as possible, put your hazard lights on and get out on the side away from traffic if it is safe. If you cannot get to a safe place, stay in the car with your seat belt on and call 999 for the police. Breakdown cover decides who comes to help, but getting yourself safe comes first.